When I first reviewed the Hilton New York Times Square for another publication in 2023, I noted that space and height were the hotel’s biggest selling points.
Having stayed again in 2025, following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment that mainly brightened the hotel’s street-level entry and recast the sky lobby with a cleaner, more modern design, that still very much rings true for me. Of Hilton’s many properties around Manhattan, this Times Square hotel is its most approachable and central – hence, symbolic.
With 478 rooms, it’s one of Hilton’s largest New York hotels (New York Hilton Midtown is much bigger) and, much like the nearby Tempo by Hilton, is distinguished by its sky lobby. This is an important mental break from the chaos below, pitching the sky lobby as more than just a design choice but one that’s necessary for both first-timers and frequenters looking to put some distance between themselves and Times Square.
A brighter, calmer design helps strengthen such a mental disconnect, moving Hilton New York Times Square back up the food chain amidst fierce competition.
Location
The hotel’s main entrance is off W 42nd Street, between Madame Tussauds and an AMC cinema. You can’t get a more tourist-centric spot in Manhattan, and so the incessant honking, chattering and hollering can be an issue. But therein lies the beauty in first impressions.
This is a great hotel to stay at if it’s your first time in New York because it throws you right into the deep end. Arriving feels like a scene ripped out of an old Hollywood movie, with the city’s deathless rhythm marching around the hotel’s main entrance. It’s an arrival dripping with excitement and gritty urban romanticism, setting the scene for New York’s hyperkinetic rhythms.
In 2023, walking through those sliding glass doors and into the hotel’s thoroughfare didn’t have much of an effect, especially at night. It was dark, drab and felt like a forgotten section of a strip mall. Now it’s much brighter; the art is showcased beautifully, and there’s a tranquil vibe that is much better connected to the hotel as a whole.
Elevators are in the centre of the thoroughfare, while the other side brings you to a much more discreet entrance on W 41st Street. It’s much better to get a Taxi from this side.
I’ve been to New York plenty of times now, but I still prefer to stay in Times Square. It’s not that I love the most irritating tourist attraction in America (but there’s a romanticism to it that I can’t ignore), but it’s always so convenient. 42nd Street Terminal brings you to all the major Subway lines and is easy to navigate. It’s also one of the more modern Subway stations, so you have plenty of elevators for when you need to drag your luggage again.
Design
Heightening heritage details and better aligning the hotel’s aesthetic with New York’s definitive Gilded Age seems to have been the main purpose of this recent $20 million rework. The street-level thoroughfare certainly benefits, but the makeover would mean nothing if the lobby remained the same.
Back in 2023, I found it stuffy and hard to like. Here, it’s more open, with a reception desk that doesn’t feel cramped, ample lounge seating and a bigger focus on curated art. QR codes sit beneath artworks and contain more information about the collection. There’s also the option to purchase pieces straight from the hotel.
The lobby feels less corporate and more lifestyle-focused, which speaks strongly to how much a refurbishment can improve the guest experience at a hotel.
Rooms
My 1 King Corner Room is large, at around 33 square metres. This particular Hilton has fewer rooms but more space when compared with some of Hilton’s other properties nearby, and so it’s generally considered a more luxurious option.
You don’t get much personality out of the rooms, however.
They are plain, the bathrooms are quite small, and there’s little more than a bed, an ergonomic chair, a working desk, and an armchair in the corner. But living space has always been the preference in a city as big as New York, and having a room this comfortably large to come back to after a busy night is always going to be necessary in this city.
A really unique selling point for the hotel is its dynamic Broadway-themed rooms. Basically, a selection of rooms is completely themed towards a major production playing nearby at the time. On my visit, that just happens to be Lion King, and so some of the rooms (feature image) are decked out with memorabilia and fun references from the iconic pop culture title.
Food & Drink
The Gatsby-styled 42nd & Sky Lounge has that classic marble bar and gothic look, giving this Hilton a tremendous sense of purpose in Times Square. Having a space that so clearly expresses its heritage is why staying in New York’s historic hotels is such an underrated way to experience the city. Importantly, it’s not overdone. The lobby bar is a clean, straightforward hunk of marble carved with more than just a touch of glamour. It’s an old-school, date design, and it works exceptionally well for the hotel.
Drinks take from classic cocktails and a long list of Champagne, while the bar also serves lunch and dinner.
And it’s a good idea to have your meal up here. Times Square is many things, but it’ll never be a culinary powerhouse with its numerous tourist traps and overpriced pizza. You’ll need to look to the hotels if you want good food, and luckily, Hilton New York Times Square isn’t slacking on that side.
Executive chef Jason Routzahn has put together a restrained menu that goes big on flavour. Coco Scallops (US$34) is a winner, with four generously large, plump scallops crusted with coconut, sitting on a bed of island corn and colada cream. It’s the best thing on a menu that focuses mainly on gourmet pizzas like the cheesy hot honey number (US$26) with sweet and spicy pepperoni, burrata and a heavy drizzle of locally made hot honey.
If I ate up here ten years ago, I’d expect sloppy American burgers and excessive salads. Instead, I’m getting gorgeous cauliflower bites (US$19) that have been tossed with gochujang pepper, and fried chicken sitting on fluffy rosemary and cheddar waffles (US$24). The decision to offer a more adventurous menu than your usual American hotel bar fare helps pull this Hilton into a new age.
Breakfast wisely moves towards à la carte as well, although it’s much more standard with its options than lunch and dinner. But at least the coffee is good now, giving you a nice place to start the day and take a few deep breaths before heading on out into the wilderness of New York City.
Amenities
Hilton Honors members can use their phones as room keys now, but that’s standard across all Hilton properties. There’s also a mid-sized gym, but that’s to be expected. It’s not the large, impeccably clean fitness centre you’ll find at more modern luxury hotels, but it does the job just fine.
Hilton New York Times Square doesn’t have any bells and whistles to write about. There’s no spa or members’ lounge, nor is there an indoor pool. You’ve got a lively sky lobby, now with an appropriately grand bar, a grand-and-go store, and additional space to sit and shoot off some quick e-mails outside of your room.
That’s it. But that’s not really a mark against the hotel, given it perfectly serves its function: offering comfortable, large rooms in the heart of Times Square.
Long Acre Market was barely an afterthought when I visited in 2023. It’s now enormous, offering guests a sizeable convenience store without forcing them to stop out into Times Square at some ungodly hour of the night. There’s also an entire section of Broadway memorabilia.
Service
A simple design change has recast the lobby as a busy, irritating hub of guests constantly checking in and checking out, to a much more seamless scene. Reshaping the reception desk so guests aren’t just queuing up and blocking the way to the elevators was a smart move, as was brightening the overall palette. Everything just feels calmer than when I stayed in 2023, especially along the ground-floor throughfare.
Value
Expect to pay around AU$435 for a night at the Hilton New York Times Square, which is very reasonable for the location. Given that New York’s hotel prices are so far removed from reality that it makes simply visiting the city a hard lesson in financial restraint, being able to secure a comfortable hotel in this location for less than $500 a night is simply unheard of.
Having a reasonable price (for Manhattan) is another strong tick in Hilton’s favour, especially since it’s a much more likeable property than a lot of other long-standing Times Square hotels, many of which are in desperate need of a makeover.
You could have said the same thing about this Hilton in 2023. It did need a fresh coat of paint. And now that it’s had one, Hilton New York Times Square stands as a strong reminder that sometimes even mostly aesthetic touch-ups can significantly change the kind of experience a hotel can offer to its guests.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Hilton New York Times Square
Address: 234 W 42nd St, New York, NY
Contact: +1 212-913-9488
Chris Singh stayed as a guest of Hilton New York Times Square.
